Prep football preview: Woodside has plenty of upside

Last season was an experience best left buried and forgotten for the Woodside High School football team.

The Wildcats went 0-10 and due to a lack of available bodies had to forfeit their final game of the season. As a result, they have been demoted from the Peninsula Athletic League’s mid-tier Ocean Division to the Lake Division.

But now, at the start of fall practice, Woodside coach Justin Andrews is looking for a rebound season and so far likes what he’s seen.

“Judging by a small sample size we’re much improved across the board,” Andrews said.

Most encouraging are the presence of 80 players to populate the program’s two teams, a big increase over last season.

Joseph King was the team’s top offensive performer a year ago as a junior quarterback. But King, a standout catcher on the Woodside baseball team, has accepted a scholarship offer to play baseball at Washington State and opted to not play football this fall.

While Andrews certainly would have liked to have had a returning quarterback with a year of running the system under his belt, he said he likes what he’s seen of two aspiring quarterbacks — Trevor Cook and Brody Crowley — who are competing for playing time.

“I’m pleased to see how they are competing,” Andrews said. “Both have taken big steps of development over the summer at passing tournaments.”

Cook is seen as more of a runner, a natural athlete, while Crowley has the stronger arm. Both are likely to be in the lineup at the same time with one being moved to another position.

Lineman Christian Ochoa (6-2, 300) is the team’s top player. With the team’s improved depth on the line Andrews is hoping to be able to use Ochoa primarily on defense, but acknowledges it may be difficult to bring him off the field at any time.

Slot receiver/cornerback Luis Robles is another standout.

“He plays much bigger than his stature,” Andrews said of the 5-7 Robles. “He competes as well as anyone I’ve coached.”

Isaiah Henderson and Josh Peterson are competing for carries at running back.

“A lot of positions are up for grabs,” Andrews said. “But we’ve looked pretty sharp the way we’ve been executing.”